Reclaiming the Past
by Mesnakesta
Summary: There once was a great empire that spanned the stars, life prospered under their careful tending. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. They left one of their own to help later civilizations. He was the most powerful of them all, and his fury is unrivaled. Shepard and co. investigate a strange signal, and find a relic of the great empire that even the Reapers feared.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The Reclaimer Empire. It was one of, if not the, most powerful civilization in the known universe. The Reclaimers territory consisted of 37 galaxies. Their technology far more advanced than anything previously seen. The reclaimers could have ruled with an iron fist, but they did not. They used their technology to help other species and guide them to a new life; for they upheld the Mantle of Responsibility.

Under their careful tending, life prospered in all aspects. Life spans were extended. Civilizations were uplifted. Peace was everywhere. That was until the Reapers attacked.

Alone, the Reapers would not have stood a chance against the Reclaimers. The Reapers knew this, so they brought back the ancient enemy of the Reclaimers, of humanity. They brought back the Flood. Over time, the Reapers built up their numbers, and then unleashed the flood on the Reclaimers. The Reclaimers reacted swiftly, but it was not enough. Under the control of the Reapers, the Flood was an unstoppable enemy.

The Reclaimers fought valiantly, the war lasting centuries. Slowly, the Reclaimers were pushed back, planets, civilizations, and eventually entire galaxies fell to the Flood. Soon, they were pushed back to their home galaxy, the Milky Way. The Reclaimers knew they would fall just like the Forerunners before them. As a way to defeat the Flood, the Reclaimers built the Titan. It was a colossal object that had the capability of killing all life in previous held Reclaimer territory.

During the war, the Reclaimers indexed every species, plant, virus, and bacteria. After the Titan would fire, the samples would be seeded throughout the universe to where they originated from. The process just like the Forerunners used.

When the Reclaimers were pushed to the edge, they fired the Titan. The once mighty Reclaimer Empire was dust. The Reclaimers knew however, that the Reapers would not stop; they would start the cycle they preached so highly about. To try to stop that, the Reclaimers left a single soldier behind. He would be found by humans when they rose up again. He was the greatest soldier the reclaimers had ever seen, he was their military leader. He was the Lord of Admirals. He was known to most as the Master Chief.

He was put into stasis in a facility deep inside of the planet Therum. When humans rose up again, the facility would send out a signal, drawing thee humans to him. They would awaken him, and he would do everything in his power to assist them in stopping the Reapers.

It is on this day that that particular signal was sent out. However, it was not received by the Systems Alliance, but of the terrorist organization called Cerberus. And now the _Normandy SR-2_ is en route to the planet to investigate the strange signal.


	2. Discovery

**AN: Thanks for the criticism, favorites, and follows. This is my first story, so we'll see how it goes.**

**I really cranked out this chapter. Seriously, don't expect chapters to come out this fast at all. I'll aim for regular weekly updates** **but I can't guarantee anything. I'm busy with school, work, and sports later on in the year. Well, here goes chapter 1.**

**I don't own anything! Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Mass Effect to Bioware! **

**Chapter 1- Discovery**

Commander John Shepard walked through the halls of the _Normandy _. He had just finished talking with the Illusive Man, or as most of the crew calls TIM. Shepard was agitated coming out of the conversation, and most of the crew could tell. They respectably kept their distance from him at the moment.

Coming out of the elevator on deck two, he walks up to the galaxy map to lay a new course for the pilot, Joker. "Something wrong, Commander?" Kelly Chambers asks with clear concern in her voice.

"Is it that obvious? It's the Illusive Man, again. Cerberus picked up some strange signal coming from the planet Therum. He wants us to investigate. We shouldn't be spending our time investigating phantom signals! The Collectors are still out there and I still have some more people to recruit!" Shepard responded clearly agitated.

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure it won't take long. Then we can be back to business!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Kelly. Thanks. I'll be in my cabin if anybody needs me. Alert me when we're half an hour from Therum." Shepard responded before going back to the elevator and hitting the button for deck one.

Shepard stepped into his cabin and sat down at the desk. He picked up a data pad deciding to read up on this signal he was investigating. _'Unknown signal found. Algorithm not used by any known species. Either incredibly advanced or severely underdeveloped, almost didn't pick it up. Origin: Therum. Cannot decipher content of signal. Recommend investigation.'_

Sighing, Shepard put down the data pad and leaned back in his chair. Despite the simplicity of the mission, there were too many unknowns for his liking. He always preferred to know exactly what he was dealing with in any situation. Deciding there was nothing he could do to rectify the situation; he lay in his bed to take a quick nap. It was about a four hour trip to Therum anyways.

"EDI, alert Tali and Garrus to gear up and meet me in the cargo bay please. They're coming down to Therum with me."

"Of course, Shepard." Replied the shipboard artificial intelligence. Commander Shepard still wasn't completely sure of EDI. Granted, she hadn't done anything to harm anybody on the ship, but nearly everyone in the galaxy hated AI's; and old feelings die hard. He couldn't imagine how furious Tali must be.

Shepard boarded the elevator heading down to the cargo bay. When he arrived he saw Garrus leaning against the Kodiak talking to Tali. When they way him, the =y both turned around to speak to him. "What's the mission, Shepard?" asked Garrus in is gravelly voice.

"TIM wants us to investigate a mysterious signal they received from Therum. They're not sure what is or who sent it. That's why we're here. Jump in, let's go."

"Ah Therum, good memories I have of this planet. Blistering heat, crazy Geth, and saving a scientist. We should come here more often, Shepard" Garrus said.

"How about we don't; I hate this planet. Too hot, and that's coming from the person in the envirosuit," Tali responded in her upbeat voice.

"I'm going to have to agree with Tali on this one, Garrus. I could live happily if I never set foot on this planet again."

"Coming up to the surface, Commander. The signal is coming from underground. There appears to be a Prothean structure up ahead. I'm willing to bet it will take you down to where you need to go," the pilot of the shuttle said. He then landed the shuttle just outside the Prothean structure.

"Let's go people. Let's find out what this strange signal is," Shepard said.

The trio then proceeded into the Prothean structure. They walked for what seemed like a kilometer. Coming up to a door, they noticed that it didn't look like the other Prothean architecture they were so familiar with. "I don't think this is Prothean," Tali said voicing the group's thoughts.

"Maybe not, but we're going in regardless. Stack up, we on my mark," Shepard said. He then held up his left hand, counting down from three with his fingers. When he closed his hand into a fist, he knocked on what seemed to be the door control. It opened and the group passed through quickly.

Coming out of the door, they appeared to be in some large atrium. The walls were a silver metallic color. The architecture was very angular, unlike Prothean designs. Green lights ran up the walls and along the floor. There were two other doors in the room, one had lights colored red on it, the other blue. Assuming that the one with the one with the red lights was locked, they went to the one with the blue lights.

The door opened and they went through. There was a long hallway; at the end of it was what appeared to be a large platform. Walking up to it, they noticed a control panel. "Everyone stay frosty, we don't know what this is and what it does, but I'm willing to be it's an elevator of some kind. I'm going to activate it," Shepard said. He then walked up to the panel and pressed a button that resembled a down arrow.

Slowly the elevator began to move picking up speed as it went. "Why don't we have elevators this fast?" asked Tali. They all nodded in agreement noticing how fast they were moving. The elevator came to a stop soon, they all stepped off it with Shepard checking how far down they were. "Wow, we just traveled 22 kilometers in about two minutes."

"We really need elevators this fast," Tali restated.

"What, don't like all of the conversations we used to have on elevators? Remember when you would tell us about your immune system and-"

"I still have my shotgun, Garrus."

"Point taken." The group then moved further into the strange facility taking in all of the details of the architecture around them. "Contact! 2 o'clock high!" Garrus shouted. The group turned and pointed their weapons at what looked like some kind of drone. It was a metallic color like the rest of the structure. It was about a meter long and had green lights running along the sides. The drone turned to them, and then started making a buzzing kind of sound. It then flew along a hallway upon reaching one of the numerous doors. It turned around to face the group again.

"I think it wants us to follow it. This is what I get for saying this would be a simple mission," said Shepard. The group then followed the drone. It led them through numerous hallways and doors, until it came upon a door that was huge. It was about 15 meters long and went up to the ceiling. "Let's go."

The group went through the door, noticing that the drone had vanished, going to who knows where. On the other side of the door was a huge chasm with a large sphere floating in the center. About 25 meters from the edge was a small platform, on it were two control panels. At the edge of the ledge by them, there was a similar control panel to one of the two on the platform.

"Shepard, the signal is coming from the large panel on the platform over there. We need to find a way across." Informed Tali.

"This panel looks like it might do something," Shepard said as he approached it. On it was a single button, which Shepard pushed. Then out of nowhere, a light had shown out across the chasm to the platform. "Huh."

"It's solid. I don't know what it is, but it's solid. Guess this is our ticket across," said Garrus as he tentatively put his weight on the hard light bridge. The group went across it, suddenly feeling a strong sense of vertigo. When they reached the platform Shepard walked up to the larger panel. On it was an outline of a human hand. "Guess there is only one way to find out what this place is," he said. Slowly reaching out, he placed his hand onto the panel.

The sphere suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. Green lights shown like cracks over the sphere. The bottom of the sphere opened up with another platform slowly coming out of the sphere. On it there was a figure down on one knee. The group was stunned by what they saw. Only Tali was able to get words out of her mouth. "Keelah."

The figure stood up revealing himself fully. On the platform was a tall human, about seven feet tall it appeared. The human had pale skin and was wearing a tight black body suit. Then from out of nowhere, his body was slowly being encased in armor that appeared from thin air. It started at his feet and worked its way up until his entire body was encased in armor. It was a dull silver-gray color with green lights that highlighted the suit. Over his shoulders, pieces of armor floated in midair. He then looked at the group that stood before him, helmet covering his entire face with a visor to look through.

The trio looked on with amazement as another bridge activated between them. The unknown man slowly walked over to the group before saying, "We must return to your ship. We do not have long. All your questions will be answered on board it." The group visibly jumped at his words. The figure spoke with a deep baritone voice that resonated power and experience.

"Right. . . Uh, w-we'll get right on that." Sheppard said to the stranger.

**Done! How was that guys? Please let me know by reviewing.**

**If you couldn't tell, I based off the drone to sentinels, the structure to Forerunners, and the Chief's armor off the Didact; because let's face it, the Didact's armor is pretty freaking cool.**

**Review! Review! Review!**


	3. Revelations

**AN: Next chapter is here! Not sure how it came out. It is mostly dialogue. Now read!**

**Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Mass Effect to Bioware**

**Chapter 2: Revelations**

The Group of four moved through the hallways of the underground structure at a slow place. Shepard, Tali, and Garrus were all curious as to whom the stranger was. For the short time that they saw his face, he was recognizably human. Yet, no species possesses the technology seen inside the structure, especially humanity.

As Tali observed the stranger she took a special note to his body language. Due to Quarians being stuck inside of suits their whole life, they had become very good at reading body language as it was one of the only ways they could display emotion. Tali noted that the stranger walked very smoothly, graceful even. Yet, his walk also resonated power, authority, and experience, just as his voice had. His body didn't show any signs of emotion though. This drove her mind wild; no matter who you were, at any given circumstance you are always showing some kind of emotion. She and the others were beyond curious as to who he was.

Garrus at the same time was running the man over in his mind as well. _'He looks strong, especially for a human. He can't be as strong as a krogan of course. His armor looks like it was meant to be as intimidating as it is protect full. Just who the Spirits is this guy?'_

Shepard, like the others, was observing the man too. He could tell this man had seen a lot in his life. Shepard could tell he was a soldier by the way he held himself up. Shepard was also thinking of ways to disable the man if need be. The stranger hadn't given him any reason to distrust him, be Shepard wasn't going to take any chances. He knew though, that the stranger had the advantage over them at the moment; they didn't know anything about him, what he was capable of, or if there were defenses in the structure. He was going to keep an eye on him.

Garrus let his curiosity get the better of him. "So… you're human. Mind telling us exactly how you got in there?" The rest of the group turned to face the stranger to see what is reaction and answer would be.

"I was put into stasis after the Titan was fired," the stranger replied cryptically.

"The Titan… right… and how long ago was that?" Garrus said obviously confused and unbelieving.

"According to the records, about one point two billion years ago."

"W-w-what? Did you just say one- one point two billion years? How is that possible?" Tali sputtered confusion clearly visible through her voice and body.

"It can't be, that's too long for any form of stasis to work. Should we have our psychologist run by you? You're sounding pretty crazy," Garrus said to the man.

"What I said is true, and I am not crazy. Follow me, we must take a detour. I have one thing to pick up before we leave." The group turned through a different hallway than the one they originally came from. After going through several more rooms and hallways, they ended up in a large circular room. The top of the room was shaped like a dome. It was as if they were inside the top half of a sphere. In the center of the room was a large panel with what looked like some kind of pillar of blue energy behind it.

The group walked up to the panel where the stranger began messing with it. Suddenly, the blue energy started to swirl around. Slowly, it began to take shape, morphing into the figure of a human female. "What's that?" Shepard asked.

The energy finally stopped, revealing a woman, about 5'9". The woman was a blue/purple color wearing what looked like a lab coat of some kind. Various symbols and code ran along the length of her body. "Hello, I am CTN-0452-9. You may call me Cortana though."

Garrus, Shepard, and Tali all stared at the figure, Cortana. Suddenly Tali screams, "AI!" and pulls her shotgun out on Cortana. Just as Tali was leveling her weapon at the AI, the weapon flew out of her hands and went flying across the room. The group turns to see the stranger sanding talk with his right arm facing outward towards Tali.

"Not a good idea," the man says to Tali.

"Are you crazy?! That's an AI, it'll turn on us!" She screamed.

"What are you talking about? Why are you so against AI's? As a Quarian I would think you would try to be her friend," The stranger replied confusing everyone.

"How do you know I'm a Quarian? What do you mean I would make friends with an AI? Ugh, you're not making any sense!"

The AI, who called herself Cortana, then spoke up. "Hmm, it appears you didn't develop alog the same path I thought you would. It doesn't matter right now. We must get to your ship. There is an enemy that is coming, the Reapers. Time is short, we must stop them."

"Wait, you two know about the Reapers? Alright, right now I don't care of you were stuck in that ball for the last billion years; you're coming aboard my ship. However, that doesn't mean I won't be keeping an eye on both of you. If either of you try anything, I'll have Tali here destroy Cortana, and I'll take care of you stranger. Understood?" Shepard immediately joined the conversation when Reapers were brought up.

The stranger looked to Cortana who nodded. "We understand. Let's make haste."

Soon the group of five people left the circular room and headed back to the Kodiak. When they reached it, Shepard raised Joker on the comms. "Joker, we're coming back up. Have the ground team assemble in the briefing room. We have a lot to discuss," Shepard said glancing at the two new additions.

"Will do, Shepard. They'll be waiting for you."

The ride to the _Normandy_ only took a few minutes, but during that time an awkward air filled the Kodiak, The two new people were not saying anything, yet their body movements suggested otherwise. Everyone else was silent, not knowing what to say. "We're about to land, Commander," the pilot said.

Everyone then climbed out of the shuttle. "Follow me. You said answers will be given, and I have a lot of questions." The group followed Shepard into the elevator which took them to deck two. They exited the elevator and turned right, through a doorway which led to a lab of some sort, entered a short hallway, and then entered the briefing room. When Shepard stepped inside, he saw that the entire ground team he had recruited so far was present. Grunt and Jack were next to each other, Miranda and Jacob were on the opposite side of the table, with Zaeed, Kasumi, and Mordin scattered throughout. He took the head of the table with Tali and Garrus at his sides. Still by the door were the stranger and the AI Cortana.

"Who are these people, Shepard?" Jacob asked voicing everyone's thoughts.

"The AI is Cortana, and the other one is… Well I don't know. Who are you exactly?"

"I am, or was, the Lord of Admirals for the Reclaimer people."

"How interesting, a Krogan, Turian, a Quarian. What an interesting group of species for the Titan to seed," Cortana cryptically said.

"What are you talking about? Never mind, let's start with the basics. You said you were in that sphere were one point two billion years? Yet, you're human. How?" Shepard asked.

"It is best we start from the beginning. When I say I was the Lord of Admirals, it means I was the leader of the entire Reclaimer military. The Reclaimers were human. We would be ancient humanity to you. We were the Second Age of Humans, you are the third."

"The Reclaimer Empire was vast. We were the most technologically advanced race that was known to exist. Our territory covered a total of 37 galaxies," Cortana added.

"What!? Did you just say 37 galaxies? How is that possible?" Jacob asked?

"As I said, we were the most advanced race history had ever known. Under our influence, peace was everywhere. Civilizations were uplifted into our community, disease was gone, life extended. It was a golden age."

"I can see that, no matter how crazy it sounds. From the little I've seen of your technology, I think it's possible," Garrus added.

"I agree, but earlier you mentioned the Reapers. How do you know of them?" Shepard asked.

This time the Lord of Admirals spoke. "During our golden age, we heard rumors of the Reapers. Though from the rumors, they far below the Reclaimers when it came to technology and numbers so we didn't give them much thought. That was our mistake. They brought back and ancient enemy of ours, one far more dangerous than the Reapers themselves. They brought back the Flood." The entire group felt a sense of foreboding at the mention of a race called the Flood. If they had the power to challenge the Reclaimers, they didn't want to know what they were capable of. "The Flood was a parasitic race. They would infect both living and dead tissue, rewrite its genetic code in a matter of seconds, and turn the body on the Flood's enemies. The Flood's goal was nothing but complete assimilation of the entire universe. They were the most dangerous foe the Reclaimers had ever faced. We defeated them once when they were low in numbers, but this time the Reapers built up the Flood's numbers outside of our territory. Then they unleashed the Flood on us."

"The Reclaimers acted swiftly, but it was too late. We began losing territory very quickly. We did everything in our power to slow the flood down, but we couldn't. We would collapse entire start systems to try to slow them down, we even destroyed a galaxy," Cortana added solemnly.

"You destroyed an entire galaxy! What kinds of monsters are you?!" Tali shouted.

"We did what was necessary. We also catalogued each species in it. They weren't permanently killed, and we did it to try to save countless others. It did not work. The flood still continued their advance," The Lord of Admirals stated. "We continued to fight, but were eventually pushed back to our home galaxy, this galaxy. We knew we had lost, so we created the Titan."

"The Titan was a device, one of enormous size, which had the capability to wipe out all life in our former territory. I was one of the leading people to design the Titan. It was our desperate measure. When the Titan fired, all life was extinguished, and the Flood starved. Only the Reapers remained. Eventually, life was seeded throughout the galaxy and the others in our former territory. Each species went back to their home world. Throughout the conflict, the Reapers would often claim that they would start a cycle in our galaxy, one that would destroy each species that rose to power in it. That is why we were left behind, to help stop the Reapers when humanity and the inheritors of the Mantle of Responsibility rose up again," Cortana said.

"I hate to be the pessimist in the group, but what are you two going to be able to do to help stop the Reapers, there are just two of you," Kasumi stated.

"I am the Lord of Admirals, I do not mean to brag when I say it, but I was the greatest soldier the Reclaimers had ever seen. Also, we have blueprints to give to all the races here. The technology should give all the races here the advantage they need. We were also left a ship, my ship, the flagship of the Reclaimer Navy."

"Unfortunately however, time has done her in. No one is immune to time. It will take time for the sentinels to get it back to working order, there are only so many of them," Cortana added.

"Why wasn't it kept in good condition by these sentinels during the billion years you were asleep?" Kasumi asked.

"I had the sentinels prioritize making sure this caveman here didn't die in his sleep. They had to be taken away from the ship."

"What is this ship capable of exactly?" Miranda asked while secretly recording the conversation to send back to the Illusive Man.

"It was the most powerful ship in the Reclaimer Navy. It was a Fortress Class Vessel. It measured 572 kilometers long. It was armed to the teeth and had the most powerful weapons on it the Reclaimers possessed. It can easily destroy a planet, or collapse a star system," the Lord of Admirals responded.

"You're bull shitting me! No way can a ship be that big or powerful!" Jack said.

"What reason do I have to lie? It is true. However there is nothing the ship can do at the moment."

"What was that you were talking about earlier, something about a Mantle of Responsibility?" Shepard asked.

"The Mantle of Responsibility was a way of life. It was our duty as the Reclaimers. We were the guardians of all life. We were meant to try to keep the peace, but not hesitate to go to war. We were the custodians of the galaxy, and later galaxies," Cortana answered.

"Being a human, does that make me a Reclaimer?" Jacob asked.

"No, we are the last of the Reclaimers. But we did choose a race to be the inheritors of the Mantle," Cortana said.

"Who? Which species did you choose?" Shepard asked.

"The Lord of Admirals looked at him, and then at Tali. He then said, "the Quarians."

**How was it? Critiques? Ideas for future chapters? Let me know! So far I have pulled each chapter right out of my ass when i write it.**

**Review! Review! Review!**


	4. Inheriting the Mantle

**AN: Here it is, chapter 3. Let's see how it goes.**

**Halo belongs to 343 Industries and Mass Effect to Bioware**

**Chapter 3: Inheriting the Mantle**

"What?!" the entire group said simultaneously. "Why would you pick vagrants and thieves to be the guardians of life?" Miranda asked.

"My people are not thieves! It is because of Bosh'tets like you that we have to scrounge for scraps! It's almost impossible to a job because everyone is so racist to us!"

"Well maybe if you would just settle down on a planet that wouldn't be a problem!"

"You don't think we haven't tried?! We have tried to settle countless times, but the Council won't let us! Either that or the Turians will just swoop right in saying that they already had claims to the planet even though they didn't! My people are dying! We have tried everything short of retaking Rannoch to survive!"

"Maybe it would be best if you all did!" At that Tali looked as if she had been physically struck. She was left speechless at that statement.

"Enough! Fighting isn't going to do anyone any good! Miranda, you can either stow away those thoughts and opinions right now or leave," Shepard finally intervened. Miranda looked as if she was going to say more, but a quick glare from Shepard stopped her right in those tracks. "Good, now I don't want to hear another word from you Miranda. Lord of Admirals, uh you got a nickname? And why did you choose the Quarians, not that I'm complaining?" Shepard asked throwing another look towards Miranda.

"Yes, most people would call me Master Chief or Chief. During out time, we encountered the Quarians before we left the confines of our own galaxy. The Quarians were a very adaptable species. They were also gifted with electronics, mechanics, and engineering. They helped design and create many of our ships after we encountered them. One of the things that showed their technological expertise was the AIs they created. Our first attempts at AIs were mostly successful. After about seven years they would hit rampancy and die. The Quarians however, created very stable AIs. The Quarians also sought to help everyone they encountered. That is why we chose them. Their selflessness is what drove our decision," Chief replied to Shepard.

"No, we would never create AIs. They're too dangerous. My people learned that the hard way when the Geth rebelled and took our planets from us."

"The Geth? What are you talking about?"

Tali fiddled with her omnitool for a few seconds before an image of a Geth roper was displayed. "We created the Geth over 300 years ago. They were not AIs when we created them, but Vis. We made them to help us do many of the jobs that required lots of physical labor. We kept upgrading them until they became AIs. We never meant to create AIs. We tried to shut them down, we knew Council law prohibited the production of AIs and we didn't want to have slaves. They rebelled, took our planets and killed countless of my people. Now because of them my people are stuck in a fleet of ships with only 17 million Quarians left. And to top it all off we're stuck in these suits!"

Both Chief and Cortana were silent for a few seconds before Chief spoke up again, "then this is your test to see if your people are worthy to uphold the Mantle or not. We can talk about this further in private, but right now we need to focus on the Reapers."

"Good idea, you said that you had schematics to give us to help fight the Reapers right?" Miranda cut in.

"Yes, we have schematics for shielding systems, weapons, and ships to help the galaxy survive the Reapers," Cortana replied to Miranda.

"Good, if you give those to Cerberus we would be able-"

"Absolutely not, you are not giving those to Cerberus. Cerberus is a pro-human terrorist organization. They will use those to weaken all the other races," Shepard butted in. Miranda looked as if she was going to say more, but a look from Shepard cut her down. "How do you plan on giving out those schematics?"

"This Council we keep hearing about might be a good place to start. Maybe we could also go directly to each species military leaders. We are not sure how this galaxy operates at eh moment and what would be the best course of action."

"The Council probably wouldn't listen; they don't ever listen when it comes to the Reapers. But I also don't know of any military leaders that have listened to my warnings of the Reapers except two humans, Admiral Hackett and Councilor Anderson," Shepard responded dejectedly, "I'll have to think about that to find the best course of action."

"Do you mind if we stay with you for the time being. While our ship is being repaired there is not much for us to do. It sounds like you're after the Reapers, so it would be best if we stayed with you."

"I think that would be best as well, if you really are the best soldier the Reclaimers have ever seen, I could certainly use you. Welcome aboard Chief, Cortana. Right there is Grunt, Jack, Kasumi, Zaeed, Mordin, Jacob, and Miranda. You have already met Garrus and Tali here. Also, this ship has an AI installed, EDI. You two are free to move around the ship, just don't break anything. Everyone is dismissed. I'll be in my cabin going over everything that you just said." Everyone began to filter out of the room leaving Shepard, Cortana, and Chief.

"I would like to go exchange data with the EDI, is there somewhere private I can do that, Shepard?"

"Deck three and through the med bay is the AI core. That should do."

"Thank you."

Just as Chief was about to leave, Shepard said to him, "I want you to go to the med bay Chief. Have our doctor do a checkup and short examination on you so in case you get injured she knows what to expect from you."

"That's not necessary; if I do get injured by body should be able to heal fine on its own."

"Chief, if you're going to stay on my ship, I need you to do this."

A short pause, "understood." He then left the briefing room to go the med bay on deck three. Shepard sighed and rubbed his head. It had been a long day. He needed to go rest for a while before they reached Illium to pick up the next two recruits.

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break**

Chakwas heard the door to her med bay open for the second time in a few minutes. The first time a new AI, one that was very lifelike, walked in and proceeded into the AI core after having exchanged greetings with her. As she turned to look at her new guest, she caught sight of what had to be the biggest person she had ever seen. He was wearing very high tech looking armor which made him look very intimidating. "What can I help you with?" She asked.

"Shepard wanted me to come here to receive a medical examination."

"Right, let's get to it then. If you could take off your armor and put on this gown for me that would be lovely. I'll get my instruments set up."

As she was getting her tools ready, she turned to look at the new man. His armor was retracting back into nothing it seemed until he was in just a black body suit, which he then started to take off. When she finished getting her tools ready, the man was in the gown with the body suit on one of the tables. "Okay, now if you could lay down for me please. This shouldn't take too long, but I'll have to put you under."

"Do it."

"Okay here we go." She then put a mask over the man's face that let out a drug to put him to sleep. It took a lot longer than she had over done for it to actually work on him though.

She got out her x-ray and began to scan his body. "Oh my…"

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break**

An hour later after Chakwas finished her examination Chief was back in his armor. He decided it would be best to talk to Tali. He then went to Engineering, where he was told she would be. As he stepped out of the elevator, he turned and went the starboard side door. Stepping into the Engineering department, he saw Tali working at a console in front of him. He stepped up to her and said her name to get her attention. "Tali."

Head whipping around she turned to face him. "Oh, Chief. What can I do for you?"

"I was hoping we would have a moment to talk, unless you're busy of course."

"Uh sure. Let me just… okay got it. Will the mess hall be fine?"

"Of course." The two then left Engineering to go back to deck three. As they came out, Tali went to grab a tube a nutrient paste from Gardner. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Earlier I said we chose the Quarians as the inheritors of the Mantle. I also said your people's situation would be your test to see if you can uphold the Mantle. I can tell that your people don't like the Geth too much right?"

"Yes, almost all of us hate the Geth, but there are a few who think it was our mistake for losing the home world by trying to shut down the Geth."

"Right, that's the thing. You have to forgive the Geth and_"

"What!? Are you crazy!? The Geth took our home world, and condemned my people to a fleet of ships to live on! We are on the verge of extinction, we can't forgive them!"

"You have to; you have to make peace with them as your test."

"We can't do that!"

"You can."

"You don't know what it's like! My people are so close to extinction. You can't possibly know what it's like!"

"I do. When we first learned of our destiny as a species, humanity was on the verge of extinction. We had just come out of a war, it first contact for us. Over 23 billion humans were lost. Men, women, children, it didn't matter who you were or how old you were. If you were human, you had to die. Eventually we were down to just our home planet, if it fell, the few remaining colonies would too. I fought in that war, and when it was over, when we won, we signed a treaty with the all the species that had just tried to kill us. One of my best friends fought in that war, and he was responsible for over one billion human deaths. Our greatest enemies became our greatest allies."

"I-I didn't know."

"And look at me, how many other Reclaimers are left? It's just me and my friend Cortana. My entire civilization is dead. I know what it's like. Believe me, and that is why I know it is possible to make peace with the Geth. It will take time, there is no doubt about that, everyone has to want it for it to happen, but it can happen."

Tali had her head hung low. She was very conflicted at the moment. The Chief could tell. "I'm not saying you have to make peace with them at this moment, but the sooner you start reconciling with them, the better."

"I'm- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all of that."

"It's okay, you were angry."

"I should go." Tali then got up and headed to the elevator to go back to Engineering. She had to clear her mind. She wanted to yell more at the Chief, but also say she was sorry even more. She wanted to punch the wall until it dented, yet cry at the same time. She had to clear her mind, so she did the only thing that ever worked for her, work.

Chief meanwhile still sat at the table. He was pretty pleased with himself. During the Human-Covenant War, he rarely talked, and when he did it was usually to other Spartans. However when he made the rank Lord of Admirals during the Great Expansion, it required him to talk a lot more. He was never good at talking about emotions and the like, but he was happy with how his conversation with Tali had turned out.

He could only do so much to make the Quarians make peace with the Geth. The Quarians had to do most of the work, he could really only push them along. His conversation with Tali was a good first step the thought.

Deciding there was nothing more to do at the moment, he decided to go down to the cargo bay for some privacy and research the galaxy at the moment. It would be about eight hours until they reached the ship's next destination.

**Done! That was fast. It was more dialogue obviously. I tried to make it better according to your reviews, so keep them coming!**

**Next chapter is Illium. It will be a lot longer than previous chapters, and will take a lot longer to get out; luckily, I'm on winter break right now.**

**As always, review! I need to know what you think and how to make it better!**

**How should the Chief give out the information? Who should listen and who doesn't? Let me know!**

**And one more thing, pairings? I don't know, I haven't put much thought into that. I'll leave it up to you guys, so pm me or leave a review saying what you want.**

**Review! Review! Review!**


	5. New Recruits

**AN: Hey! Sorry it took a while to get this out, but it was Christmas week. I was very busy; family came in from out of state and that sort of stuff. So yeah . . . this is the first chapter with combat in it. I don't feel like it turned out all that well, but we'll see.**

**This story also made 100 follows! I never imagined it would become this popular so fast, so my thanks to all of you hooligans reading this right now.**

**I own nothing!**

**Begin!**

**Chapter 4: More Recruits**

The _Normandy_ had just docked in Nos Astra, though that was at the back of the Chief's mind at the moment. He had spent the entire ride after talking with Tali researching the galaxy at large. He was not pleased with what he read up on. Racism seemed to be very prevalent in the current galaxy, something he didn't appreciate. The Quarians were almost extinct and were hated by everyone, the Krogans were almost extinct due to the genophage, Batarians used slavery, and the list could go on. To top it all off, a Reaper attacked the Citadel and the council wrote it off as the Geth. How could they be so blind?

He began to wonder if the schematics we would give out would be used against the Reapers or each other. It seemed here political backwash was the norm. He was interrupted by his thoughts when Shepard came up to him.

"Hey, Chief, we've landed on Illium. I'm going to go out and take a few people with me to try to find some information about the people we need to find. I would take you, put your armor isn't exactly subtle. I'll call back to the _Normandy_ when I've got some leads. For now just sit tight."

The Chief responded with a simple nod, neglecting to mention that since his body suit was made of nanobots they could reshape his suit into whatever clothing he desired. He felt more comfortable in his armor anyways. He looked up again to see Shepard turn around and walk back into the elevator from where he came.

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break**

Shepard sighed; outside from when the Chief was talking about his origins, he seemed really secluded and didn't talk much. He supposed it was from losing his entire civilization, perhaps he should get Kelly to see him.

As he stepped out of the elevator he saw Tali and Garrus waiting for him at the airlock. He couldn't help but notice how distracted Tali looked. Was it about that whole Mantle thing the chief was talking about? Probably, he made a mental note to talk to her after the mission.

"Hey guys, you ready to go?"

"Yes, Shepard."

"Oh yeah, Shepard. Hopefully this time it will be two nice and easy pickups."

The group didn't go far before they were met by an Asari with two Loki security mechs. "Hello, Commander Shepard. Welcome to Nos Astra."

"You know who I am?"

"Of course, my boss was very pleased to hear that you had landed, she has also paid for your docking fines."

"Well see, now I have to ask. Who is your employer?"

"Oh, well that would be Illium's best information broker, Liara T'soni."

"Uh, okay thanks. Where can we see her?"

"Her office sits just above the main market. She's expecting you." With that, the Asari turned around and walked off.

"Liara, an information broker? That doesn't sound like the Liara we knew on the SR-1," Tali said very confused at the turn of events.

"You're right, let's go find out what this is all about," Shepard replied. The group then went through the door and stepped into the main market. After spending a few minutes looking around and buying a few things they went up a stairway where there was another Asari behind a desk.

"Commander Shepard, Ms. T'soni is expecting you. You may see her now." The group walked into the office to see Liara speaking to a human via hologram.

"Have you ever faced an Asari Commando Unit before? Few humans have. I want my money by the end of the week, or there will be consequences." With that she disabled the connection and turned around. Her face went from cold to shock and happiness. "Shepard! It's good to see you again." She gave Shepard a quick hug which he returned.

"Likewise Liara, but what was that? You were just making some serious threats."

"Business, Shepard. I am one of the most successful information brokers there are now. Sometimes you have to use force to get what you need."

"What happened Liara? You used to be such a friendly and shy archeologist, and now you're making death threats as an information broker?"

"You died, Shepard, that's what happened. People changed, so did I. I know you're here for business though. How can I help?"

"We're looking for Thane Krios and an Asari named Samara."

"Ah yes, that makes sense I suppose. Thane Krios is an assassin who just arrived on Illium a few days ago. He is one of the best there is. My sources say he is targeting a corporate executive, Nassana Dantius. Remember her?"

"Oh yes, how could I forget? She tricked us into killing her sister so she could keep playing politics. Lovely woman she is."

"Indeed. She has been very paranoid as of late and has an entire company of mercenaries guarding her towers. As for Samara, well she is a Justicar, an Asari who has given up their life to fight all types of crime. They are both highly respected and feared for what they do. They follow a code that they do not stray from and are known for accomplishing their mission through any means necessary."

"It might take a lot of convincing for her to join us Shepard. We are on a Cerberus vessel after all." Garrus added to the conversation.

"Garrus is right. Unfortunately, Thane appears to be making his move soon, and the NAPD are going to arrest Samara soon as well. I do not think you will be able to make both in time."

"Damn, nothing is ever simple is it? Looks like we're going to have to split up the team. Let's head back to the Normandy and figure this out."

"Good luck, Shepard, and it was nice seeing you again. If you are ever free, come visit. Same goes for both of you, Garrus, Tali."

"Thanks Liara, we'll try, no guarantees unfortunately." With that, the trio turned and left to head back to the Normandy. It didn't take long for them to get back and call the ground team up to the briefing room.

Jacob and Mordin were the first to show up, unsurprising due to their closeness of their stations. Everyone else soon came into the room, last was the Chief. "Okay, so we're here to pick up two new recruits. Unfortunately, we need to find them both right away, so we're going to have to split the team. Samara will probably take more talking than picking up Thane, so I will be heading that one. With me, I want Miranda, Zaeed, Mordin, and Kasumi. The rest of you are to follow Garrus' lead picking up Thane. Tricky part for you guys is fighting through a company of Eclipse Mercs, that's why most of the heavy hitters are in your group. Aright everyone, let's get moving. Garrus, I need to talk with you real fast."

Everyone else left the room to get suited up for their mission. Garrus turned to Shepard, "What's up, Shepard?"

"It's about the Chief. We don't know how good he is at fighting, he said he was the best soldier of the Reclaimers, but I'm not sure. Ideally, I would have liked to see him on his first mission with us, but we need to take that risk. Just keep an eye on him and watch his six, okay?"

"Alright Shepard, I'll play babysitter, but only this time. That's not what I signed up for you know."

"Of course, Garrus. I'll try not to give you those easy jobs anymore." He replied with a smirk.

"That's all I could ask for." He then turned and left. Shepard then sighed. He really hoped the Chief was as good as he said he was.

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break**

The Chief was in one of two shuttles carrying the team to Dantius Towers. In the shuttle with him were Talia and Jack. Chief glanced at Tali. From the little he'd seen and talked to her, she seemed like a pretty decent person. The extranet said she was one of the ground members of the original _Normandy_. According to her weapon load out she was best at close quarters combat. She would also be very useful for any tech problems they encountered on the way.

Jack he wasn't too sure about. She was supposed to be one of the strongest biotics that humanity had, but she was also a criminal. She wasn't even wearing any armor. She had a similar load out to Tali's, but would provide biotic support instead of tech support. She was also very rash and crude. He wasn't sure he could trust her in a combat scenario.

"So I couldn't help but notice, Chief, but you don't seem to have any weapons. Do you plan on beating our enemies to death or something?" Tali asked.

Chief thought it was a fair question, but could see that they were rapidly approaching the towers. "I do have weapons, you'll see soon enough." Tali nodded at that, but still looked suspicious.

The shuttles soon landed and dropped off the team. Just as the shuttles flew off, they heard a commotion coming from inside the tower. The group turned to see a bunch of dock workers get gunned down by Loki mechs. The group immediately rushed towards the glass window and broke through. The Loki mechs turned and opened fire on the new comers with Fenris mechs charging.

Everyone took to cover except the Chief. Garrus was about to shout at him to get to cover when a blue and purple flash appeared in his hands. When it was gone, a bunch of strange shaped parts were in his hands. They then assembled into what resembled a gun. It was that dull silver color that made up his armor, but with black highlights and trimmings. Blue lights decorated the surface of it, and some parts seemed to be floating in midair, much like some of his armor pieces.

The Chief turned his weapon on the mechs and fired. A stream of blue lights came out of the front of the barrel and tore the mechs apart. The few shots that the mechs landed on him resulted in a yellow shimmer appear around the surface of his body. The Chief didn't seem to be fazed at all. "We need to hurry, the longer we wait, and the more civilians will get gunned down."

"Uh right, let's move." The group moved down the hallway, all in different phases of confusion and disbelief as to what they just saw.

"What kind of weapon is that exactly, Chief?" Tali asked.

"It's an assault rifle. It shoots hard light," He responded in his short clipped answer. The group kept moving down the hallway with the group, excluding Grunt, what he meant by hard light exactly. They got to the end of the hallway and turned right through a doorway where there was an injured Salarian dock worker wounded lying against the wall.

"Help," the dock worker said in a raspy voice. He was clearly in pain.

"He's still alive," Garrus said pointing out the obvious.

"I can't feel my legs. . . My chest is killing me."

The Chief stepped up, retracted his helmet, kneeled down, and looked the Salarian in the eyes. "Who did this to you, and why?"

"We're just night workers. Nassana. . . sent them after us. . . She sent the mechs to round us up, but we didn't hear. . . They just started shooting."

"They just attacked you?"

"Yes. . . We were too slow. It was horrible. Everyone. . . Screaming. . . The Mercs said there was no time. Nassana wanted us out of the way. . . Immediately. Then. . ." He then coughed up a bunch of blood, "the dogs." He coughed up some more.

"He's not going to make it if we don't help him," Tali said with concern in her voice.

The Chief held out is hand where once again a blue flash appeared. When it went away a strange silver cylinder was left. He popped open one end and poured out a fluid onto the Salarian's chest. To the group's amazement, his chest immediately began to heal and fix its self, much, much faster then medigel. "This should ease the pain and will heal your wounds. The way back is clear. Get out of here, and stay safe."

"Thank you stranger, I owe you my life." He got up and slowly walked away back towards the entrance of the tower.

"Let's move," the Chief said again and stood up. He pulled out his weapon and then moved through the now open door. The group quickly followed him into another long hallway that ran along the side of the tower with a large window down the side.

On the other end of the hallway a squad of mercs came out which were quickly dispatched with Jack's biotics, Chiefs rifle, and Garrus' sniper. So far Grunt and Tali hadn't done much due to their close range weapons. Tali still helped with tech support however.

The group kept moving into a large room. Inside there were even more mercs and Loki mechs. The Chief brought his rifle to bear taking out a few of the mercs with amazing accuracy. Grunt charged ahead with his shotgun, finally pleased that he could kill something. He charged into one mech and used his shotgun to destroy another. Tali moved up in cover using her shotgun to kill a merc that was moving to attack Grunt from behind. The enemies were dealt with quickly and the team moved farther up the tower.

They dealt with several more groups of mercs and mechs before they reached a locked door. "Tali, unlock this door for us would you?"

"Of course, Garrus." She worked on her omnitool for a few seconds before the door opened revealing three more Salarian workers inside. Grunt raised his weapon which prompted one of them to speak up.

"Don't shoot! We'll go! We'll go!"

The ne next to him spoke up as well. "Hey wait, they're not Eclipse! You're here to help us right?"

"It's one reason why I'm here. Come out, it's safe," Garrus answered to the second Salarian. He then prompted Grunt to lower his weapon.

"Thank you, we are in your debt," the first one said giving them a slight bow.

"Maybe you can help us. I'm looking for someone. Not a merc- he's on his own."

"Well, whoever sealed us in here. . ."

"When he found us I thought we were dead. But he just closed the door and locked us in," the other finished for the first.

"Locked you in? Sounds like our assassin was trying to keep you safe." Tali said.

"Assassin?"

"Here for Dantius, probably. She's had it coming. You treat people like this; it always comes to bite you in the ass."

"I wouldn't stay here for too long. It should be safe down on the lower floors." Garrus informed the workers.

"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's go everybody!" The first Salarian said before the group scrambled out going the way the team came from.

The team moved to the elevator in the room activating it. It began its descent down, no doubt with more enemies inside it. The group got into cover, and when it opened they opened fire. The two humans and one Krogan were utterly decimated even with their barriers. The group quickly piled in and activated the elevator going up.

At the top of the elevator was an Eclipse merc who was talking to someone over his comm. He didn't hear the group approach him from behind. Garrus, being the ex-cop quickly interrogated the man for information o the assassin. The merc didn't know much, but he told them what he knew. The group then let him go.

The group kept moving up the bridge except Garrus and Chief. Chief used his trick again to make an odd looking sniper rifle appear in his hand. It looked like all the other tech they had seen him with, just longer. The two of them then gave the rest of the team cover fire and picked off enemies from a distance. After a while, all the enemies were dealt with and they moved into the completed tower.

From there the group got into an elevator that took them to the level Nassana was on. They exited the elevator to come to face with Nassana herself and several more Eclipse mercs.

"I was wondering when you people were going to show up. Why did you feel like destroying my security force to get to me? What have I done to deserve dying?"

The Chief then moved ahead of the rest of the group. He pointed an accusing finger at Nassana. "You had those mercs kill innocent dock workers! Don't tell me that you don't have blood on your hands!"

"And who are you exactly?"

"Hmph. I. . . I am a monument to all your sins." When he said that, both groups felt chills run down their spines. It was also at that moment that a Drell fell from a ceiling vent and killed all the guards quickly before shooting Nassana in the stomach. He then sat her on the table, crossed her arms, and began praying.

It was then Garrus stepped forward. "Is she really worth praying for?"

"I am not praying for her. I am praying for myself. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you for instance. All this destruction . . . chaos. I was curious to see how far you would go to find me. Well, here I am."

"How did you know I was coming at all?" Garrus asked.

"I didn't. Not until you marched in the front door and started shooting. Nassana had grown paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force. She believed one of her sisters was going to kill her. You were a valuable distraction."

"You used us, so you could kill her!" Garrus was visibly agitated at that.

"I needed a diversion; you needed to speak with me. You certainly fulfilled your end of the bargain. What would you like to discuss?"

This time the chief spoke up. "Someone's been abducting entire human colonies. We're going to stop them. We already know the culprits. A race you call the Collectors."

"I've heard of them. Attacking the collectors requires you passing through the Omega Four Relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so."

"Yeah, well, they said it was impossible to get to Ilos, but Tali, Shepard, and I got there." Garrus said.

"You work for Commander Shepard? He has made a career off accomplishing the impossible. This was to be my last job. I'm dying. Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does."

"I don't think Shepard knew about that. Is there anything we can do?"

"Giving me this opportunity is enough. The universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die. Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that. I will work for Shepard. No charge."

With that the group left the towers to head back to the _Normandy_. Shepard by now had finished his mission and was waiting for them to return. On the way back, Thane was thinking about his new companions, one in particular, the tall human in advanced armor. He was an interesting case, one that he would have to think over at a later time when he had time to meditate.

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break**

The group returned to the ship some time later. Thane went to the briefing room to speak with Shepard, everyone else went to their stations and rooms to rest. For Thane, the following conversation he had with Shepard was very interesting. It was then that he learned who the Chief was and his origins. He would definitely have to meditate on the subject later.

When Shepard was done briefing Thane, he went to speak with Garrus. He regretted not being able to see the Chief the first time they had him see any action, but he knew it was the right choice. As he entered the gun control room, he saw Garrus doing some calibrations. "Hey, Garrus."

He turned around to face Shepard. "Shepard, how was recruiting the Justicar?"

"It was eventful, but from what I hear, not as eventful as your mission."

"Perhaps, we did face a lot of mercenaries and mechs today. The Chief was incredible."

"He's actually the reason I wanted to see you. How did he fare in a combat zone?"

"As I said, he was amazing. He was not lying when he said he was very skilled, he might even be better then you. He also has some serious tech to back him up."

"So he is someone I should trust to watch my back out there?"

"Without a doubt, Shepard. You can certainly rely on him to get the job done."

"Thanks, Garrus. That's all I needed." With that Shepard turned and left the room to head to deck one to get some much needed sleep.

Back in the room, Garrus was sitting on his cot thinking of the Chief. That last thing he said to Nassana creeped himself and the rest of the group out. _"I am the monument to all your sins."_ What could that have possibly meant? Garrus was curious, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to find out either. He decided to let it rest for now to get some sleep as well. It had been a busy day.

**So how was it? Too rushed? Not enough detail? Leave a review and let me know.**

**I really do read the reviews and try to listen to them as best as possible. So keep them coming.**

**Pairings? Leave a review!**

**Critiques? Leave a review!**

**Anything else? LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**Also, I changed the size of the Chiefs ship. I originally said it was 212 kilometers long, but the Didact's ****_Mantle's Approach_**** was 371.4 kilometers in height. The Reclaimers are supposed to be more advanced than the Forerunners, so I changed the Chief's ship to 572 kilometers long. We'll go with the argument that they could have made it bigger, but anything bigger would be unnecessary.**

**Review!**


	6. Dust

**AN: Ah! Man, this took way longer than I expected. No excuses on my part. I am going to try to get out weekly updates, maybe every Friday or something. I have no guarantees though. So here is this chapter.**

**Chapter 5: Dust**

The _Normandy_ was currently flying around the galaxy helping several of its crew members tie up loose ends before they went on this preverbal suicide mission. Before Shepard had recruited Tali, they had picked up Kasumi and Zaeed. Shepard had already done their missions that came with their contracts, resulting in Vido Santiago dying and Kasumi destroying the evidence at the cost of her lover's memories. Jack had also been satisfied when they had destroyed her old Cerberus prison. They had just taken care of a mission Jacob had requested, and were on their way to Omega for Samara.

The Master Chief had taken no part in any of these missions as he was busy preparing for the Reapers and consulting with Cortana.

Above the cargo bay of the _Normandy_ there was a bay window that overlooked it. It was at this moment that a Drell was standing in front of it watching its lone occupant. Behind him the elevator opened revealing an Asari Justicar. The Justicar, Samara was her name, walked up to the Drell, Thane Krios. "You are observing the Master Chief?"

"I am," he replied in his raspy voice, "I do not know what to make of him. The Commander has told you about his origins?"

"He has. You have seen him on a mission correct? What was he like?"

"He was a demon in combat, I would say better than the rest of the team combined. He did not hesitate to kill any of his enemies. However, he seemed to be fiercely protective of the civilians and innocents. When the group confronted Dantius I was sure he was about to kill her before I did."

"Interesting, he seems to hold himself to a high moral code when it comes to innocents, but will do whatever it take to win."

"Do you believe it has to do with this Mantle of Responsibility?"

"Perhaps, it is an interesting concept." With that the two fell into silence, both watching the Master Chief below.

While the two were watching him, the Chief was continuing his research on the galaxy. The Council disgusted him; they didn't have the best interests of the galaxy at heart. They just used their positions to keep their species in power and the rest below them. If he ever met the Council, which at some point he knew he would have to, he wasn't sure he could keep a cool head around them. He was broken from his thoughts as someone entered the cargo bay.

The Chief looked up to see Tali walking towards him. He had not talked to her since he was first brought aboard the _Normandy_. He did not have any reason to, as when Tali left their short discussion she was clearly thinking about what he had said. "Chief, do you have moment?"

"I do. Do you want to talk somewhere else?"

"No, no this is fine." She sighed before continuing. "How did your people do it? Make peace with your former enemies I mean?"

The Chief leaned back slightly; he had figured this would be what she wanted to talk about. "It wasn't easy. At first we only had a temporary truce so we could deal with a common enemy together. However, after the end of the war, there was still a lot of animosity, which is to be expected. You have to understand, it didn't happen overnight, for full peace without any real animosity towards each other, it took almost a century. It wouldn't have been possible if both sides didn't want it."

"I understand, and I know that peace would be more beneficial than war, our people are small enough in umber that a war would likely be the end of us. I just don't know if many other people on the fleet will think the same way. Only one of the Admirals wants peace with the Geth, so he's outnumbered. I don't know what to do," Tali finished looking at the floor. Chief could tell that she was being honest and didn't know how to approach this with the rest of her people.

Chief was a soldier through and through, he was not good when it came to talking about emotions, but that didn't stop him from trying. He put a hand on her soldier to comfort her and said, "Tali, we'll figure out a way to get your people on board with it. I will make sure it happens. I promise, and when I make a promise, I keep it." He finished the last part with firm conviction in his voice.

Tali looked up and gave a small nod, "Thank you." She then quietly stood up and left the cargo bay. She was heading back to engineering as usual. Shortly after her first talk with The Chief she had stopped sending Geth parts and information back to her father. It did not take long for him to send several messages to her furiously asking why she had stopped. Tali didn't have it in her to tell him though. She soon got lost in her work.

The rest of the journey to Omega and the short stay there was mostly uninteresting. Shepard helped Samara lure out and kill her daughter, Morinth, and was nearly killed in the process. The ship did not stay long docked in Omega, nobody on board wanted to be there long. It was then that they were headed to Tuchanka to try to help Mordin and find out what was wrong with Grunt. Grunt had been acting strangely aggressive lately, even for a Krogan. It did not take long for the _Normandy_ to reach Tuchanka.

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break**

Cortana and Chief were currently in the cargo bay as usual. Shepard had left the Normandy with Garrus and Grunt in tow. They were here to find out what was wrong with Grunt and help Mordin he had been told.

Cortana for most of their journey so far had stayed in the AI core conversing with EDI. "EDI has been asking a lot of questions about our society, mostly the interactions between synthetics and organics," Cortana said.

"I'm not surprised. The galaxy is currently very distrusting against AI's."

"I know, I hope that will change some day. Once the Quarians make peace with the Geth it should help I imagine."

The intercom then came to life, _"Chief, Mordin, and Thane, Shepard wants you to report to him in the main cavern of the complex. Best not keep him waiting."_

Chief looked up to Cortana, both saying goodbyes before Chief went to the drop ship that would take them down to the surface. Once the other two got there they headed to the surface.

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break**

The group of three walked up to where Shepard, Grunt, and Garrus were waiting. Chief noticed that Grunt seemed to be shaking in anticipation for something. "Commander," he said.

Shepard turned around to greet the newcomers, "good, you guys are here. Mordin, Wrex had some information on your captured friend; you, Thane, and I will go retrieve him. He is at a broken down hospital. Chief, you, Grunt, and Garrus are going to be participating in Grunt's Rite. It's basically his passage into adulthood. All I really know is it's going to be dangerous, you two are some of my best fighters, so you'll be going with him. Any questions?" The group shook their heads. "Good, Chief, follow Garrus and Grunt, they know where to go." Shepard then left with Mordin and Thane in tow.

"Come on, I want to get this started. I feel it in my blood." Grunt then walked off. Garrus shrugged and Chief and Garrus followed Grunt to the Tomkah. The group then found themselves on walking towards the arena. The Shaman had already told them as much as he could about the Rite.

The three walked up onto a large platform, it had two walkways that led to it with cover in various places on it. Four towers were on corners of the platform as well. "Let's get this started, I can't wait any longer." Grunt said. He walked up to the Keystone and hit the button.

The loud speaker over the arena then came to life. "First we conquered Tuchanka . . . and mastered a natural world only we are fit to hold." The Keystone slowly rose up, and then crashed down onto the ground.

"Here they come! I'm ready!" Grunt exclaimed enthusiastically. It was then that Varren came pouring off the wall opposite the team of three. "Ha! Varren! This will be easy!"

Grunt moved to the staircase on the right with his shotgun out and began blasting away the Varren. Garrus went to the center of the platform with his Mantis and started to pick off the Varren on either side. Chief moved to the staircase n the left and began to use a shotgun as well.

The Varren were an easy foe to beat. Grunt would often run down the stairs and shoot the Varren up close, stomp, throw, and punch them to death. Chief used his more accurate shotgun from a distance. It shot blue hard light, a form of ammunition he used for centuries, and disintegrated the target if shot with enough.

The Varren didn't last long under the onslaught of the Chief, Grunt, and Garrus. Grunt picked up some thermal clips off a fallen Urdnot warrior, and then moved to the Keystone again. "Then the Krogan were lifted to the stars to destroy the fears of a galaxy, an enemy only we could chase to their lair." The hammer came crashing down again.

Soon enough the three could hear a buzzing sound coming from both sides of the arena. It was then two Harvesters came flying down on either side of the platform. The three immediately went to the positions they were previously occupying.

"Klixen! Keep your distance from them! They breathe fire and explode when you kill them!" Garrus shouted to the Chief.

"Got it," he replied simply before changing his weapon to another rifle. This one slightly longer and sleeker than the assault rifle he used in the Dantius Towers. It was still the silver gray color with blue lights, but also had what resembled a s cope on the top.

Chief saw the Harvester drop off four Klixen before flying away. He pulled his rifle to bear before letting off two accurate shots into the nearest one. The rifle shot thin beams of plasma into the Klixen and passed right through killing it instantly. He adjusted his aim to the next one had let off two more shots in quick succession. One of the Klixen got close enough to attack the Chief with his fire but found it ineffective against the Chiefs energy shields. It too soon died just like the others. The last, enraged by its companion's deaths, sprinted at the Chief very quickly. It was thanks to his fast reflexes that he was able to grab the Klixen out of the air as it jumped at him and threw it into the wall behind him. One shot the head finished it off.

The Chief looked over to see how his teammates were doing, to find them killing the last of a group of Klixen the Harvester dropped by them. It wasn't long before three more Harvesters flew into the arena, each dropping off six Klixen.

Chief, deciding his rifle wouldn't be a good weapon against so many enemies, switched to his assault rifle which fired hard light. Garrus immediately began to pick off and weaken the enemies with his sniper while Grunt wisely kept a good distance from them.

Chief opened up with his assault rifle, killing a Klixen instantly. Six more began to charge at him, the rest going after Grunt or trying to get to Garrus. Chief fired his gun at the one leading the charge, ripping it to shreds making it explode. The next two began shooting fire at him from a distance while the other three charged past them right towards the Chief.

Deciding that it was best to deal with the three charging him first, he shot the legs out from under one of them before kicking another making it drop to the ground. He rolled out of the way of a shot of fire before catching a Klixen that jumped at him. He grabbed onto its back legs before swinging it at the one he kicked earlier. Both were sent tumbling down the stairs. A short burst from his rifle killed the first he had wounded.

He changed his aim, sighting one of the Klixen that tried to burn him. He let out a short burst, killing the Klixen making it explode. The Two Klixen that fell came bounding back up the stairs. He shot the farthest one killing it, and then punched the closest with his full strength. His fist went through the creature's skull and exoskeleton into its brain killing it instantly. He pulled out his hand, now dripping with a thick black substance, shouldered his rifle and killed the last Klixen.

The Chief looked up to see that Garrus had easily picked off five Klixen that tried to get to him on the elevated platform. Grunt was just finishing up, killing two the two last Klixen that were in the arena with his shotgun. It wasn't long until a third wave of 12 Klixen was dropped in, but they were easily disposed of.

"This is it, one final test. Hope this one is exciting like the last. Heh, it'll probably be better." Grunt said as he approached the Keystone.

He pressed the button, making the loud speaker come to life overhead. "Now all Krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only good is survival!" The hammer came down one last time to summon the last opponent.

"Feel that? Everything is shaking. I am ready" Grunt said stoically.

Several tentacle like appendages then appeared around the arena which Garrus shot quickly. They then receded back into the ground. Right after that, a huge creature then came forth. It resembled a large worm that had a lot of teeth. "Thresher maw!" Garrus shouted. That's going to be a bitch to take down!"

"This will be fun!" Grunted exclaimed before taking out his heavy pistol and firing into its mouth. It didn't seem much deterred by this, as it just spit a wad of acid at the group.

"Scatter!" Garrus yelled, making everybody move in different directions. Chief then pulled out his rifle he used earlier and began shooting lances of plasma at the thresher maw. It seemed to cause it some damage as it squealed then went back into the ground. It appeared on the other side of the arena it was just at.

Garrus kept firing at with this sniper, Grunt his pistol, and Chief his rifle. It would then go back into the ground and reappear somewhere else. This process repeated several times.

"We're not getting anywhere with this! Grunt, catch!" Chief yelled over to his teammate. Grunt then caught a large bulky objet, rectangle in shape, which appeared in the Master Chief's hands out of thin air. Soon another appeared in his hands. Both then unfolded and reassembled themselves in each of their hands. "Aim it at the maw, when I say fire, pull the trigger!"

Grunt nodded, listening to the warrior that he a high respect for, before taking aim with what appeared to be a holographic sight on the side. Chief took aim too, before yelling "Fire".

At the same time, two lances of blue-white energy shot forth from the weapons piercing the thresher maw's face. It fell to the ground, killed instantly when it was struck by the two weapons of death. "HAHAHAHA! That was awesome! I like you Master Chief! And all of your guns too!" Grunt said enthusiastically. He turned back towards the corpse of the thresher maw. "hehehe, I like this gun. Can I keep it?"

Chief looked at Grunt thinking. _He is still a child by all standards, though an educated one. He's proven himself trustworthy over the little time we've known each other too. He has the strength to wield it. Hell, why not?_ "Sure. Just don't shoot it inside the Normandy."

"Hehehe, no problem." Grunt then walked away chuckling.

"Are you sure that was a good idea? I don't exactly feel comforted with the idea of Grunt having a weapon like that."

"He'll be fine," Chief replied to Garrus. Chief then walked away going after Grunt.

"It's not him I'm worried about," Garrus muttered under his breath before jogging to catch up to the two. He came upon the two talking to Uvenk.

"With restrictions. You could not breed, of course, or serve on an alien ship, but you'd be clan in name." Uvenk said. Garrus assumed he was trying to get Grunt to join his clan.

"It's your choice Grunt. It sounds like an easy choice to me though," Chief said.

"You are weak Uvenk," Grunt snarled.

"You're head is valuable whether you're alive or dead!"

"Just try to take it!" Grunt said pulling out his shotgun. It was then a firefight erupted between the two groups. It didn't last long and ended with Uvenk dead when Grunt shot him in the face point blank.

The trio then left and met up with the Shaman who took them back to Clan Urdnot. He said there would be a party under Grunt's honor. Naturally, Chief decided not to go and left to go to the Kodiak that took him down. On his way he met up with Shepard.

"Well, you're all alive; I take that as a good sign. Everything go okay?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. We survived and beat the Rite. They're throwing a party in his honor now."

"Well I might go join them. Are you coming?"

"No. I don't party. I'll be on the Normandy." With that the Chief walked off to the shuttle to head back up to the ship.

Shepard stood there for a few seconds thinking about the Chief. He hadn't interacted much with him, the most being the Chiefs introduction on his past. Every time Shepard did try to talk to him he only received blunt answers or even just shrugs. It was almost as if he was more a machine than man. Deciding that he would have to talk to Cortana about it later he turned and headed towards the sound of the party.

**So there you go. I am trying to listen to your suggestions in the reviews; one of the most common things is more detail. I guess you could really consider this my first action scene; I tried to give it more detail, only problem was I got bored writing similar stuff over and over again. There isn't much change in the battles in this mission at all, so yeah. I'm also trying to make the chapters a bit longer.**

**Next chapter will be the Collector ship. That should be interesting. So far, not much has changed from canon story line. There hasn't really been enough time and interactions for the Chief's presence to do much yet, but that will change. A lot of stories have the Chief in them, but he doesn't end up changing anything really. This will be different than those. The first changes will really be seen in Legion's recruitment mission. As you can imagine, Tali's loyalty mission will be pivotal in the story.**

**So let me know what you think! I'll get these out faster! Don't kill me!**

**Review! Review! Review!**


	7. Bugs

**AN: Ugh, sorry this took so long to get out. School has been trying to kill me. I hope you guys like this chapter, I think it is good.**

**I didn't have any internet connection for most of the time I was writing this, so I had to go off memory of what happened in the mission, so dialogue will be off. I hope it isn't too far off.**

**Anyways, I want to thank all of you who are reading this and who have clicked that favorite/follow button. This story has gotten far more attention than I had ever dreamed of, so thank you!**

**To clarify last chapter and future chapters, the weapon that Chief used on Tuchanka (the rifle) was basically a mix between a DMR and a Covenant beam rifle. From now on, I'm going to refer to it as a beam rifle.**

**One more thing! I don't have any beta readers, so if you want to beta this story PM me. Don't request to be one if you just want to read chapters a bit earlier. I want people who have a good understanding of the English language and have experience writing in some shape or form. That's all!**

**Enjoy! I don't own anything!**

**Chapter 6 - Bugs**

The _Normandy_ had just left Tuchanka few hours ago. Currently the crew was just wasting time as they had no immediate assignments. At the moment, Chief was talking to Cortana in the AI core.

"Cortana," Chief greeted.

"John, I was wondering when you were going to visit me in here."

"Yeah well, we've been busy. Sorry I didn't come sooner. Do you think you could help me create a few things?"

"Depends, are you going to go beat some people up with these things, caveman?"

"Har har, no actually quite the opposite. These should help people."

"Ooh, shaking things up now are we hmm? Alright what are they?" Cortana inquired.

Chief then told Cortana his ideas for three projects. Her body grew brighter for a few seconds and her face lit up with joy. "Oh, I'll get started on these right away. I'm surprised you came up with these you old man."

Chief grunted in response. "Last time I ever talk to you, all I get are insults and jibes." He then exaggeratedly turned around and stormed out of the room. It was then that Kelly Chambers came on over the intercom in the med bay.

"Master Chief, the Illusive Man would like to speak with you in the Comm. room." Chief then turned to go to the elevator and go up a deck. He could imagine what the leader of Cerberus and their temporary benefactor wanted to speak about.

Chief walked into the room where the table lowered into the ground. He stepped onto it and the QEC started to rise around him. In front of him appeared the Illusive Man sitting with his right leg crossed over his left. In his right hand was a lit cigarette. "Master Chief, thank you for joining me." The Chief continued to stare at him, not uttering a single sound or moving in the slightest. Deciding to continue TIM started to speak again. "You have a very interesting story, one that I tried to find any evidence about. I haven't come across any. Why is that?"

"The Reclaimers left our technology well hidden." He replied simply.

"Indeed. Miranda forwarded me a report when you first came aboard the Normandy. You said that you were going to distribute technology out to the species of the galaxy?" Chief gave a simple nod in response. "I would recommend against that. The other species will just use it to step on humanity. However, if you gave it to humanity alone, Cerberus specifically, we could bring peace to the galaxy. Humanity would be dominant, just as they were in your time."

"No."

Tim took another puff from his cigarette. "And why might that be?"

"I will not give it to Cerberus because you will use it to crush all of the other species. Humanity is also not next in line for the Mantle."

"Ah yes, the Quarians. That's another thing I wanted to talk about. Why would you choose nomads to be the guardians of life and not your own species?"

"None of the reasons you would understand."

"Do not question my intelligence; I am far smarter than you think."

"I am not questioning your intelligence, only your motive."

"Cerberus works for the safety of Humanity."

"No, it seeks Human dominance. I have no ne reason to continue this conversation." With that the Chief left the projector and walked out of the room.

The Illusive Man sat on his chair, looking at where the Chief had previously occupied. He knew that he had to get the technology the Chief had access to; it would secure humanity as the top species on the galaxy, and maybe even beyond. He then typed up a message and sent it to Miranda Lawson. She was the closest to the Chief and would be able to get what he needed.

**Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break!**

A day had passed since the Chief talked to TIM. Chief did not bother to tell Shepard about the exchange since nothing came out of it, however he still found out when Kelly Chambers informed him of TIM's call. Shepard wasn't happy about it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Shepard asked in a firm voice.

"I had no reason to, nothing came out of it," Chief replied calmly.

"You still should have told me. In case you haven't noticed, I am the captain of this vessel."

"I am aware."

"Chief, he tried to get you to hand over your technology. I would feel safer if at least you told me you talked to him."

"Shepard, I am not a child. I don't need to be looked after all the time. I have lived for over 4,000 years. I can take care of myself believe it or not."

Shepard kept looking up at the Chief, he knew he was right. "Fine, I'm sorry. Get geared up, we just got a lead. A Collector vessel was disabled by some Turians. We're going to go check it out." He then turned and left.

Chief took the elevator back down to the cargo bay; he had yet to fight the Collectors. This would be an interesting battle to come.

**Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break!**

The _Normandy_ just came out of FTL, and in front of it appeared a Collector Cruiser. On board the cruiser was a small army of Collectors lying in wait to ambush their soon to be guests.

The crew of the _Normandy _was watching the disabled vessel, feeling both fear and apprehension. Only two of them were left out of these feelings. One of the two was a young Krogan; he was excited for a possible fight to come. The other was a soldier from an era long passed. He felt no fear; for he had been in worse situations than this had the potential to be. All he saw was a mission that needed to be accomplished.

Commander Shepard came up with a relatively simple plan. He would take a ground team onto the disabled vessel and split it into two. One of the two teams would go with him to secure the data that they needed, the other would guard the Kodiak in case the ship proved to be not so dead.

Shepard would be taking Tali, in case they ran into any technical problems, and Chief, as extra muscle, with him into the heart of the ship. Guarding the Kodiak would be Grunt, Garrus, and Zaeed, the rest of the team's heavy hitters.

It is now that the shuttle had just landed on the disabled ship, its occupants moving out. The team of three that would be going into the bowels of the ship moved out. Chief was taking pint in the group.

Shepard noticed that Tali wasn't carrying her usual shotgun, instead was carrying one that he had never seen before. "Where did you get that new shotgun?"

"Hmm? Oh Chief gave it to me. According to him it's his people's most advanced hard light shotgun." She replied happily.

"He decided to just give it to you?"

"Yeah, just before the mission actually."

"Huh, you two seem close. I think you are the only person he actually has conversations with besides Cortana."

"I don't know, he's just helping me try to solve the problem with my people and the Geth."

"Are you-"

"Commander, look," Chief interrupted. Shepard looked to where he was pointing. Along the walls and ceiling were pods, the same ones that the colonists from Horizon were abducted in.

"They're all empty. Come on, let's hurry," Shepard said. The group continued to move through the halls at a slightly faster pace.

"Where are all the collectors? You would think we would have found some of their bodies," Tali asked.

"I don't know. I do not like this."

"It's a trap. Be on your guard." The Chief informed.

"How do you know?"

"Instinct at first. I had Cortana analyze the Turian SOS. It was fabricated, by Cerberus. I'm also picking up life signs near the center of the ship, where we're going."

"Cerberus!" Tali growled.

"I knew we couldn't trust TIM. But we're here, and we do need that data. I'll have a talk with him later. I'll let team two know of the situation. Good work Chief."

The group kept moving through the halls until they came upon a pile of mutilated human corpses. "Keelah." The group took a look at the bodies, feeling sadden. Chief then kept moving.

"Come on we have to hurry. There is nothing we can do for them." The other two followed his lead and left the pile behind. It wasn't long until they came upon a Collector on an examination table.

"They were experimenting on one of their own?" Tali asked.

EDI then came onto the comms. "I ran an analysis on the Collector. Shepard, its DNA is that of a quad helix pattern."

"So?"

"The collectors are Prothean," Chief answered for EDI, "they were one of the races that inhabited the galaxy that I had to destroy."

"The Reapers didn't kill the Protheans, they enslaved them!"

"These are not Prothean anymore, Shepard. They show signs of extensive genetic re-write."

"Commander, we still need to get that data before the Collectors decide to power up the ship."

"Right, let's go." The group continued until they reached a massive cavern filled with hundreds of thousands of pods. They kept moving after a brief discussion until they reached the data hub they were after. "EDI, do your thing."

The platform suddenly started to shake violently, causing everyone but the Chief to lose their balance. "What was that?!"

"The Collector ship is starting to power up. I can delay them, EDI is currently mining the data," Cortana came on over the comms. "Careful guys, you are about to have a few visitors."

The group looked forward to see several more platforms heading towards theirs. "Defensive positions! Chief, take left! Tali, with me on the right!"

The group moved behind cover at their places. Coming on the platforms bearing down on the Chief were eight Collector drones and a scion. He switched his assault rifle for his beam rifle and began to fire at the scion. It fired its cannon at the Chief who quickly activated a hard light barrier in front of him, blocking the shot. He deactivated the barrier and placed some well aimed shots in its center of mass, killing it.

The other drones kept firing at him, doing minuscule damage to his shields. He fired his rifle three times quickly taking three of them out with headshots. One began to glow in a bright yellow light and a deep voice that sounded a lot like the Didact's that he killed so long ago filled the air. "Assuming direct control."

The new glowing drone looked up at the Chief and paused. Then a roar filled the air. "You will die, Lord of Admirals! You will not succeed! You have failed in the past, and you fail now!"

The Chief continued to pick off the other drones around the controlled one. "Harbinger," he said with a growl, "I should have known you would be behind this."

"You will join your people in ash; you will be forgotten just as your people have. The Mantle of Responsibility is no more!"

"The Mantle will continue! I will see to that!" Chief placed several shots into its head killing it.

"Releasing control." Chief turned to see how his team mates were faring. They had eliminated their hostiles and were preparing to head back to the shuttle to escape.

"Sounds like you and Harbinger have a bit of history," Shepard said as they ran through the halls they way they came.

"You could say that." The ream kept moving. Soon they came to a large room with various objects that could be used as cover. On the other side was a wave of more drones coming in try to kill them. Tali and Chief took cover behind one barrier to the right with Shepard behind one on the left.

Shepard opened up with his Avenger Assault Rifle taking out two drones before he had to duck down. Chief and Tali stood up, the former killing four drones instantly with well placed headshots. Tali shot at two Collectors that were trying to flank the two; the glowing blue projectiles impacting them making the bodies disintegrate into blue dust.

Shepard quickly threw a grenade taking out the last three in the room. The trio quickly moved out of the room. "Garrus! What's your status?!"

Garrus came on over the comms. "We're fine for now Shepard, Cortana has sealed off all the entrances but one making a nice kill zone, but they keep on coming. Soon we will be overrun. You better get here soon!"

"Cortana, are there any faster ways to the shuttle?" Tali asked over the comm. surprising Shepard.

"The current route you are taking is the fastest, Tali. Though I can slow down some of the Collectors, you will still have to fight your way out."

"We need to pick up the pace," Chief said.

"Agreed, let's double time it!" The three ran at a faster pace entering another room. This one was more heavily defended, with 12 Collector drones, a scion, and even a praetorian.

"I'll deal with the Scion and Praetorian. Commander, Tali, take out the drones." Chief quickly rushed into the room, charging the scion firing at it with the assault rifle he switched to.

Shepard and Tali took cover, both opening up on the drones. They quickly killed four before having to duck down to let their shields recharge. Shepard threw a grenade, killing two more. They both looked over to the Chief to see how he was doing. They saw him finish his charge by tackling the scion onto its back and firing his assault rifle point blank into its center of mass. He turned to his left to face the praetorian. He once again quickly charged it firing his rifle.

Shepard and Tali were quickly brought back to their situation when they were fired at again. They both stood up and shot at the drones, Shepard killing two and Tali three. They both then split up firing one the last drone killing it. They then saw Chief finish off the Praetorian by jumping on it when he killed its shields. Using his inhuman strength, he punched a hole into its soft neck area before jumping off. A second later it exploded from the inside, killing it instantly.

"Wow," was all the two had to say.

The three then moved on through the door that Cortana had them take. They soon heard Garrus' team firing trying to defend their only way out. But then they also heard a large group of enemies running up to meet them. It turned out to be a very large group of husks.

"We don't have time for this. Get behind me!" Chief quickly said. The other two decided to do what he said, assuming that he had a plan. Soon enough, Chief held out his left arm and a blue hard light shield was projected from it. He then charged.

Shepard and Tali were quick to follow the Chief. He was just plowing through the horde of husks knocking them to the sides. The group quickly made it to the shuttle with Chief acting as a battering ram. "Into the shuttle! Move!" Shepard shouted. Garrus' team quickly obliged piling in before Cortana took control of its systems taking it back to the _Normandy_.

Once they were on board, Shepard, Tali, and Chief quickly made their way to the cockpit. Joker was sitting their getting ready to take their ship out of the system. Chief then spoke up, "Cortana, are you still in their systems?"

"I am, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, do it." The _Normandy_ then pulled away from the Collector vessel before its drive core overloaded, blowing the ship to bits. The _Normandy_ went into FTL leaving the system.

**Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break! Break!**

A week has passed since the ground team boarded the Collector vessel. Over that time, Shepard helped Thane top his son from assassinating a politician, and Garrus settle a dispute between him and a former team mate, Sidonis. Garrus had decided to hear out Sidonis willingly because he wanted to do what he thought Chief would do.

The Lord of Admirals was becoming a role model for all of the alien crew members of the _Normandy_, along with a surprisingly large number of the Cerberus crew. They all valued his ideals and thought they were very solid. Samara even told Shepard once that when she was around him, she felt very young, as if she were merely a child.

Kelly Chambers had tried talking to the Chief a few times to try to get inside his head and see how he was able to cope with losing his entire civilization, but met no success. Only one crew member seemed to be able to talk with the secluded soldier on a regular basis. A few other crew members questioned her about what they talked about. She always said they talked about the duties a race would have when they held the Mantle of Responsibility, and ways to convince her people to make peace with the Geth.

Later in the day, the _Normandy_ received a call from TIM, saying there was a derelict Reaper where they could retrieve a Reaper IFF. The _Normandy_ quickly changed course to head that way.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, in an artificial world, a ship of massive proportions was soon going to be finished with its needed maintenance. A number of the Reclaimer made sentinels were given another task since the ship didn't need so many working on it anymore. These sentinels would split up, some retrieving resources around the galaxy and the others making a large fleet of ships, antiques by ancient humanity standards, but advanced by the currently galaxy's standards.

The Reapers were coming soon, and if everything went according to plan, at least one race would be prepared.

**Bam! I personally like this chapter; I think it was my best yet. But let me know!**

**Answers and responses to the last chapter's reviews are below.**

**longarms1990- Thanks! And as you can see, I followed up on your suggestion!**

**AvengersReviewer- Thanks for comment! I too never read one where they pass the "Mantle" on to another race and thought I'd give it a go. And they do have another use as seen in this chapter. You will see more of them in future chapters.**

**LordGhostStriker- Of course!**

**Telron- Thank you**

**Prometheus-G747- Thank you for your first review. And to answer your second, who said that the "God-like-child" will even appear in this fic? Too many stories have a character from the Halo 'verse in the ME one and don't have them play any big role on the outcome of the story. Chief will have a HUGE impact on this story. I'm not going to say anymore, I don't want to give away what I have planned.**

**ArrowheadLock- Cortana/Legion pairing. . . What?! That never occurred to me. Hmm . . .**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Review! Review! Review!**


	8. Geth

** Shit, I didn't mean to be away for so long. Over a month? Ugh. This chapter is kind of short; I felt I just had to get some more content out there ASAP. I took a break from writing due to some unfortunate events that had befallen on my family recently, so sorry. I'll update sooner and with a longer chapter. Hopefully it will be out next week.**

** Disclaimer: I don't own shit. Don't sue me.**

Chapter- Geth

The _Normandy_ was currently on its way to a derelict Reaper corpse. It would still take a few hours to reach its destination. Tensions were running high on the ship at the moment.

Garrus sat at a table in the mess. With him were both Shepard and Tali. They were eating and discussing what they should expect.

"It's the indoctrination I'm afraid about. Who knows how strong its signal will be on it." Tali voiced her biggest concern.

"I agree, indoctrination isn't something to be messed with," Garrus confirmed.

"I know, but hopefully we won't be on board for too long for it to actually do anything. I think th-" Shepard stopped when he saw the Master Chief enter the mess. He wasn't wearing his armor, only the black body suit underneath.

The Chief walked up to the counter and picked up some food from Gardner. Shepard noticed that he grabbed twice the amount of food the normal human would eat before a mission.

"Chief, would you like to join us?" Garrus asked as he saw him.

"Sure," was his simple reply before he too sat down at the table with the group.

"What are your thoughts about the mission, Chief?" Shepard asked.

Without hesitation the Chief replied, "We're going into the situation blind. All we know is that the research team has failed to respond recently and the Reaper is very old. More Intel would be ideal." The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"So Chief, I can't but help wonder where you are keeping all of your weapons. I see you with them on missions, but never anywhere else," Garrus asked.

Chief took a moment to answer. He was trying to figure out a way to describe it to them. "They are stored in slip space. It was my people's method of faster than light travel."

"What is slip space exactly?" Tali asked getting excited to learn about some more of the advanced technology his people had possessed.

"Slip space is another dimension that runs parallel to this one. In order to access it, you need a slip space drive to cut a hole in the dimension you know and enter slip space. Once inside it, the laws of physics are skewed in the traveler's favor."

"So your people entered another dimension to go into FTL?" Shepard asked. Chief nodded in the affirmative. "And this other dimension is where you keep your weapons?"

"Yes. My armor has a miniature slip space drive built into in that allows me to access slip space. I can't travel in it, but I can grab and store items in it. I have my own personal armory stored there."

"Interesting. How fast is it to travel in this slip space?" Garrus asked.

Chief chuckled, a rare display of emotions from him. "For my people at our height, incomprehensibly fast for you. But it ultimately depends how precise the cut into slip space is and how powerful your conventional engines are once you enter it."

"Is this one of the technologies that you are planning on sharing with the other species?" Shepard asked.

"It depends. I still have yet to meet this Council. I will make my final decision then." The group sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Tali spoke up.

"Chief?"

"Yes?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something. Not too long ago Cortana asked me if she could have a blood sample. Do you know what that was about?"

"Yeah, now that I think of it, I think I heard her asking Grunt for one too," Shepard added.

"She asked one got one from me as well," Garrus finished.

Chief looked at the three of them for a second. "I asked her to research a few projects. In the future they will become very valuable, especially to a couple certain members of the crew."

"We're coming up to the Reaper corpse, Shepard. You might want to, I don't know, get geared up or whatever you normally do before a mission." Joker said over the intercom.

"Let's get to it. Tali, Chief, I want the two of you to come with me onto the Reaper."

"Alright, you ready Chief?" Tali asked.

"Yes, let's go."

**Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break Break **

The _Normandy_ was approaching the derelict Reaper corpse. Alarms were blaring and the ship was shaking. Shepard ran up to the cockpit in full armor to find out what was wrong.

"What's going on Joker?"

"I'm doing my best. The wind's gusting up to 500 kph. There's a second ship alongside the Reaper. It's not transmitting an IFF, but the ladar paints its silhouette as Geth."

"I guess we know why the science team stopped reporting in." The ship got closer to the Reaper and then suddenly all the turbulence stopped. "What just happened?"

"The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope." Joker informed Shepard. "Eye of the hurricane, huh?"

Shepard turned around and headed to the airlock. There he found Chief and Tali waiting. "Alright, let's move in. Tali, if we run into any tech problems, you're up. Chief, keep your eyes peeled for any Geth. A Geth ship is also docked with the Reaper."

Tali and Chief gave a brief look at each other before acknowledging Shepard. The trio then turned towards the airlock and moved through it. They entered the Reaper and came into a hallway with obvious signs of the Cerberus team being here. The group moved through a room lined with computers.

They opened a door and the entire ship shook for a second. "_Normandy_ to shore party," Joker came on over the comms.

"What just happened?" Shepard asked.

"The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get in from our side."

"Great, we're trapped inside a Reaper. Now what?" Tali said.

"At the moment of activation, I detected a heat signature. That is likely where the mass effect core is. I'm sending you its coordinates," said EDI. "Be advised: The core is also maintaining the Reaper's altitude."

"So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core."

"And that means everyone dies, yeah I got it," Joker quipped.

"We'll make a sweep for survivors and research data. Then we'll knock this thing out of the sky. Be ready to pick us up. If any pilot can, I'm sure it's you."

"Aye Aye, good hunting."

The group kept moving and came onto a cat walk. Soon enough, loud moans were heard everywhere. "Husks!" Tali shouted.

Shepard pulled out his Geth pulse rifle and Tali and Chief their shotguns. A group of husks quickly climbed up on both behind and in front of them. Shepard began shooting at the husks at their six while Chief and Tali took out those in front.

"Guess what we know what happened to the research team." Tali said.

"Yeah, let's keep moving. Keep your guard up."

The three moved a little deeper into the ship before more husks came pouring down the catwalk. The three quickly lined up side by side and shot into the hoard. "They're climbing up the sides. I've got center." Chief quickly said. The others turned to the sides and shot the husks that were trying to flank them.

"Keep moving," ordered Shepard. Soon enough the three of them came up on a large room with a locked door on their end. "Tali, get the door, we'll cover you."

Tali quickly moved to the door and began to hack it. Another wave of husks began to charge at them from the other side of the room. Chief pulled out his assault rifle and the two of them began blasting into the hoard slowing them down.

"I've got it! Into the door, quickly!" Chief and Shepard followed Tali into the door who shut it and locked the door using her own encryption key. "That should keep them from following us."

"Nice work, Tali," Shepard said. The three kept moving further into the ship. They then heard the moans of more husks.

"How many of these things are there?" Tali asked exasperatedly. In front of them a large wave of husks came charging towards them with two scions. Another group climbed up the sides behind them.

"I've got the front. You two take out the back," Chief ordered. He then summoned two more weapons to his hands. Both were two cylindrical objects. He activated them, blades appearing around the handles. One was curved and colored blue-white. The blade was plasma suspended in a magnetic field. The other was a green-yellow blade. This one more angular than the other. It was made of super heated hard light.

Chief charged at the group of husks cutting down three right away. One jumped at him from his right prompting Chief to turn and bisect it with one of his swords. He kept the turn going, spinning around and cutting down another that was now behind him. Thrusting his arm backwards caused a husk to run right into the blade killing that one too.

Tali and Shepard meanwhile were shooting the husks with their shotguns. The two of them finished their husks off quickly enough to see the Chief slicing his way through a thick wall of husks. Chief's attention was drawn to the two scions that were left. He charged at on inhumanely fast and kicked it with all his might. It went sliding across the large catwalk and fell over the edge. Turning quickly, he blocked a shot from the other scion with his blue sword before slicing vertically with the other. Following up on that with a diagonal cut quickly ended the scion.

"Wow," was all Tali had to say.

"Let's keep moving," Chief said. He then began jogging further down the catwalk. Tali and Shepard stood there watching him for another second before they sprinted to catch up to him. When they caught up to him, Shepard took the lead. They came upon another room with several husks running out of it towards them. However, the husks didn't make it far since a sniper somewhere in the room took them out with precise headshots.

"There's a sniper in here with us," Chief said.

"I thought all the research team died. Is the survivor part of their security?"

"I doubt it; he still should have been able to contact Cerberus. Keep your eyes peeled," Shepard ordered the small team. The three of them moved further into the ship. On the way they encountered more husks. They were quickly dealt with by Chiefs swords, and Tali's and Shepard's shotguns.

They came up on a long part of the catwalk with one side completely open to the outside. Shepard took a step forward when a sniper round flew by his head and killed a husk that was sneaking up behind him. The group turned to where the shot came from. A Geth trooper with a large hole in its body and N7 armor welded to it stood up. "Shepard Commander," it said before walking off.

"It talked," Shepard said stunned at what just happened.

"It shouldn't be able to talk, a single Geth has no more intelligence than a Varren," Tali said curiously. "I wonder why it didn't attack us though."

"What about the fact that it knows my name? Or that it just saved me?"

"I don't know. . . But I want to find out," Tali said enthusiastically. "Let's keep going." The group kept moving along the walk. Chief had exchanged his swords for his hard light assault rifle again. On the way across they encountered numerous husks and several scions. They didn't last long under the constant fire from the heavily armed group. Once they made it to the end of the walk they turned a corner. On a crate in the hallway was the Reaper IFF that they had been searching for.

"Guess Cerberus was able to get it," Shepard commented. He picked it up and pocketed it in his armor. They moved further but were stopped by a barrier that was in place leading to the mass effect core. Inside was the Geth from earlier working on a console. It looked back at them before pressing a few buttons, deactivating the barrier. Then several husks ran at it from behind. The Geth turned pulling out a hand cannon. It managed to shoot two of them before the third caught it with its claws. The Geth fell to the floor deactivated.

"Quickly, into the room!" Chief ordered. He put a round into the husks head killing it.

"The console has been damaged! We'll have to destroy the core manually!" Tali shouted as more husks crawled up from the sides.

"When the shields lower, I'll shoot it out while you two cover me!" Shepard said. The other two remained silent, focusing on killing the husks that were there to greet them. Shepard joined Tali one the left side of the room shooting the husks that were crawling up and trying to run up the stairs.

On the other side, Chief was on the lower level. A wave of seven husks crawled up. Chief took out three of them before they could finish getting up. The remaining four charged at him recklessly. He took out another with three well placed shots to its chest. He turned and kicked another making it fly off the platform. Turning around, he grabbed the closest husk and threw it at the other. One went tumbling down the side. He finished off the last with a shot to its head.

The shield guarding the core lowered. Shepard turned to face it. He unleashed a barrage of rounds into it damaging it. Tali was still finishing off the last of the husks on her side. Free for the moment, Chief fired into it. Deciding this would take too long and they would have to repeat the process several times, he threw an ant-matter grenade into it just before the shield closed. It detonated, completely obliterating the core.

The mass effect field around the ship dropped casing the Reaper to shake violently. "We've got to get out of here!" Shepard shouted. "Joker, come pick us up! Hurry!"

"On my way, Commander,"

"Wait! What about the Geth! We should take it with us!" Tali quickly said.

"What!? It's a Geth, Tali! What if it took over the _Normandy_, or tries to kill us?"

"I know! But this Geth is different from the others!"

"I agree with Tali on this one, Commander. I think it would be best if we took it along. We have both Cortana and EDI on board anyways," Chief added.

Shepard looked at the two quickly, and then the Geth. "Fine! Grab it, but hurry!"

Chief knelt down and three they Geth over his shoulder. The three ran out of the Reaper as fast as they could. Behind them was a horde of husks chasing them. The _Normandy_ came into view. Chief quickly jumped the gap with the Geth on his shoulder. He set it down and proceeded to give covering fire for his teammates. Tali and Shepard jumped on board quickly. The airlock door sealed shut and the _Normandy_ sped away from the gas giant.

**I know it ends abruptly; I had planned on making this chapter longer, but decided to upload a bit of content first. What was going to be at the end of this will be at the start of next chapter. So there. **

** I'm too lazy at the moment to reply to individual reviews but thank you all for reviewing. I've received nothing but positive feedback about this story. That makes me feel great and makes me want to keep writing it. I don't want to let you all down.**

** Keep doing what you do best and review please.**


End file.
